1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to attachments for toothed shovels and, more particularly, to a grading blade which may be readily fitted to a conventional backhoe bucket without modification of the backhoe bucket.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art attachments for toothed shovels commonly comprise a flat plate adapted to be slipped over the teeth of a backhoe bucket and to be retained thereon by means of specially designed attachment fittings. Since the buckets are of differing designs, the fittings must be adapted to each bucket design. Quite commonly, the buckets or their teeth must be specially modified to accept the attachment. This, of course, greatly increases the expense of a given attachment.
Prior art grading blades also are quite large and unwieldy. As a consequence, they are difficult to attach to the backhoe bucket and often require the cooperation of two or more men. Because of the manner of attachment, and modifications made to the buckets, and the weight of the prior art attachment blades, undue strain is placed on the teeth of the backhoe bucket. In turn, failure of the teeth or the attachment fittings is a common occurrence. As a result, the time and expense needed to satisfactorily complete a given grading job is increased. Further, the operator of a backhoe employing prior art grading devices must be extremely skillful and cautious in order to prevent premature failure of the teeth or fittings.
Since prior art grading blades most commonly are flat plates, no provision is made for spillover of dirt during a grading operation. As a result, many passes of the blade are necessary before the job may be completed satisfactorily. In turn, the time and expense of the operation is increased.
Additionally, because of the shape of the prior art devices, the grading operation cannot be continued to a point closely adjacent to a building having weatherboarding or the like overhanging the foundation. If the operator should attempt to employ the blade close to such a building, damage to the building is quite likely. Therefore, the operator must refrain from employing the grading blade close to the building and the job must be completed manually. This entails additional time and expense.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved grading blade attachment for a toothed shovel which can easily be fitted to a conventional backhoe bucket without modification of the bucket.
It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved grading blade attachment for a toothed shovel wherein undue strain on the teeth of the shovel or on the attachment fittings is avoided.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a new and improved grading blade attachment for a toothed shovel wherein dirt being graded is contained within the shovel so as to prevent spillover of the dirt and thus permit the operator to do a neater job with fewer passes.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a new and improved attachment for a toothed shovel wherein the attachment is shaped so as to permit the operator to employ the attachment adjacent a building, even if the building has weatherboarding overhanging the foundation.